INFECTIOUS WASTE DISPOSAL

No owner or operator of a sanitary landfill shall knowingly accept for disposal, or dispose of, any infectious solid wastes (except for sharp wastes properly packaged and labeled by small generators of infectious wastes) that have not been treated to render them noninfectious. ORC § 3734.02 (K)

No person shall transport infectious solid wastes that have not been treated to render them noninfectious unless the business employing that person has registered with the Director of Environmental Protection. There is an exception to this provision for sharp wastes generated by generators who produce fewer than fifty pounds of infectious waste per month, if the waste has been packaged and labeled as specified below (see section titled "Sharp Waste Disposal"). ORC § 3734.022 (A)

"Infectious solid wastes" include:

  1. Cultures and stocks of infectious agents and associated biologicals, including, without limitation, specimen cultures, cultures and stocks of infectious agents, wastes from production of biologicals, and discarded live and attenuated vaccines;
  2. Laboratory wastes that were, or are likely to have been, in contact with infectious agents that may present a substantial threat to public health if improperly managed;
  3. Pathological wastes, including, without limitation, human tissues, organs and body parts, and body fluids and excreta that are contaminated with or are likely to be contaminated with infectious agents, removed or obtained during surgery or autopsy or for diagnostic evaluation;
  4. Waste materials from the rooms of humans that have been isolated because of diagnosed communicable disease that are likely to transmit infectious agents. Such waste materials do not include any wastes of patients who have been placed on blood and body fluid precautions under the universal precaution system established by the Centers for Disease Control, except to the extent specific wastes have been identified as infectious solid wastes;
  5. Blood specimens and blood products that are being disposed of, but not including patient care waste such as bandages or disposable gowns that are lightly soiled with blood or other body fluids;
  6. Contaminated carcasses, body parts, and bedding of animals that were intentionally exposed to infectious agents during research, production of biologicals, or testing of pharmaceuticals;
  7. Sharp wastes used in the treatment or inoculations of human beings, including, without limitation, hypodermic needles and syringes, scalpel blades, and glass articles that have been broken. This section also includes sharp wastes that have, or are likely to have, come in contact with infectious agents in a laboratory;
  8. Any other waste materials generated in the diagnosis, treatment, or immunization of human beings or animals, in research, or in the production or testing of biologicals, that the Public Health Council identifies as infectious solid wastes. ORC § 3734.01 (A)

 

SHARP WASTE DISPOSAL

All generators of infectious solid wastes shall place all infectious solid wastes identified as "sharp wastes" (see section (7) cited above) and all unused, discarded hypodermic needles, syringes, and scalpel blades, in rigid, tightly closed, puncture- resistant containers on the premises where they are generated before they are transported off that premises. Containers containing such wastes shall be labeled "Sharps" and, if the wastes have not been treated to render them non-infectious, shall be conspicuously labeled with the international biohazard symbol. ORC § 3734.021 (A) (1)

Wastes generated by a generator who produces fewer than fifty pounds of infectious solid wastes during any one month (i.e., small generators of infectious wastes) that are subject to and packaged and labeled as sharp wastes as specified above, shall be transported and disposed of in the same manner as non-infectious solid wastes. ORC § 3734.021 (A) (1)

 

SPECIMEN CULTURE DISPOSAL

All generators of infectious solid wastes shall either treat all specimen cultures and cultures of viable infectious agents on the premises where they are generated to render them non-infectious before they are transported off that premises for disposal or ensure that such wastes are treated to render them non-infectious at an authorized treatment facility, as specified by the Director of Environmental Protection. ORC § 3734.021 (A) (1)

Specimen culture wastes and cultures of viable infectious agents subject to and treated as specified above shall be transported and disposed of in the same manner as noninfectious solid wastes. ORC § 3734.021 (A) (1)

 

LARGE GENERATORS OF INFECTIOUS WASTE

All generators of more than fifty pounds of infectious waste during any one month (i.e., large generators of infectious wastes) must register with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency as a generator of infectious solid wastes. The large generators are subject to the same rules regarding disposal of sharp wastes and specimen cultures as cited above. In addition, large generators of infectious wastes must segregate infectious solid wastes from other wastes at the point of generation. ORC § 3734.021 (A) (2) There are numerous other requirements for the handling and disposal of infectious wastes by large generators, as listed in ORC § 3734.021 (A) (2)

INFECTIOUS WASTE DISPOSAL

 
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